HD For Indies

Looks like the perfect setup to film planes taking off... errr... maybe not.
 

It's a monster!
 

it's nice to finally get a sense of scale on that sucker. Thanks Mike, now I understand how they can fit all that stuff in the small space...Answer: It's not small. Now it looks like a camera, especially with that hunky Cooke lens on there.
 

I was also surprised with the size, seeing it live. But what do you want? It's not a handycam.

Screening looked as promised. It delivered. Can't say more. Well, perhaps a bit more than 30 seconds of footage would have been nice and a pehaps a design that doesn't look like it's coming from an sixteen year old game developper.

But that doens't matter.

It's the big league all right, and looking different (how cheap and techno-macho-cheasy it may look) will actually help.

(another side note: as sharp and perfect as the red image is, I missed (the grain and) the life in the picture. if film scanners weren't so god awful expensive...)

They should put this in the hands of five good directors and dp's from different directions as soon as possible and make five features.

Seeing it used through imaginative people, that would blow me away.

And personnaly to you (in a very good way):
Why not consider starting working for them full time? Something the grand children can look to (if they are a just bit nerdy).
 

grrr grain is a defect if you want it back, buy a 99 dollar after effects plugin and let your film render over night.


(from someone who's had to remove too much grain)
 

They ( Red ) shouldn´t have shown this Red Rail thing right now, it looks totally unfinished ( or I hope so ). I have the feeling that it is totally overblown. Not everything from Arri, Aaton and Panaflex is bad ( and for me it never was, except their high price tags ) so I´d like to see Red picking up some of the "old guys`" modular concepts, for example the Arricam: You have a body and snap different boxes i.e. LDS( Lens data box ), SCB, MCB etc. and grips like center and standart handles etc. to it. Red seems to go the other way, they split everthing up, increase the camera`s compact size and require too much cabling.
 

That shoulder mount system does not look very comfortable at all. Look how it twists the shoulders and neck.

After a day of that you'll need a chiropractor...
 

Im using an Arricam ST at the moment, and it is very impressive from a design point of view. Red would do well to follow them in some areas I agree. Particularly I hope that it is possible to move controls and perhaps a status readout to the sides of the camera in a modular way rather than the back (as well as ideally). I'll be using the camera with focus pullers and they need to see that stuff, whereas I just want a good clean frame (with space around it for leading and booms). Perhaps being able to assign one monitor output to a status display for assistants, and a separate one for operating off. Also adjustable and extendable options for the run button.

The ST has a great LED status setup on the left front, and ACs can get all their info from that in a glance.

Ahh such a wish list, I guess I'm hoping they try and take the best from all the existing cameras and not the crappy un-ergonomic parts.
 

Oh and they should make sure the handgrips are angle adjustable fore and aft also. Ideally you should be able to bend your arm and the grip sit exactly where your hand ends up.

(guess I've operated too much handheld. I can always get my own handgrips I guess, as long as they make the rods 15mm or 19mm. It'd be a crime to use the panavision 5/8".

Mike do you know or can you find out the diameter of those carbon rods they're using?
 

so very very cool!
 

Agreeing with the comments above about the rail system seeming really over-complicated. What happened to the idea of using this as an ENG camera? Can you shoot hand-held without this over-the-top rail system? Is there a simple bolt-on shoulder pad accessory to come?

Can't wait to shoot a 1080p indie feature with this puppy, just wish it didn't have to be so damn ugly... When will designers learn that classic enduring designs are always minimalist?
 

On most film cameras, the preferred pad has been a piece of plumber's foam under the T-Shirt. There's your simple pad. ;)